Geonosian
|sapience=Sapient |lifespan= |height= 5-6 ft. |length= |weight= |wingspan= |taillength= |location= Geonosis |nature= |social=Hive |diet= |status=Common |danger=Significant threat |language= |subspecies= |related= }} Geonosians are an insectoid species native to the planet Geonosis. In the distant past, Geonosis's largest moon was hit by a rogue comet, sending out a massive debris field that hammered the planet's surface into ruin, before settling into a ring of orbiting rock. This event killed off more than 99% of Geonosis's native species. Over millions of years, the few creatures who survived the devastation slowly reclaimed the planet. Random meteor impacts constantly weeded out the weaker species, leaving only the truly cunning, hardy, and ruthless species alive. The Geonosians, the dominant life form on the planet, constitute all three. Geonosians reside in catacomb-like hive colonies beneath organic-looking spires. Anatomy and appearance Like all insects, Geonosians have a hard exoskeleton that provides protection from physical impacts and bouts of radiation that occasionally shower their world. They also have elongated faces and multi-jointed limbs. Geonosians are strong despite their thin builds, and are capable of constructing massive hives and factories in concert. They are considered barbaric by other races, and view brutal violence as entertainment. They enjoy watching victims try to survive in massive execution arenas while being attacked by savage predators. Despite this, they are technical geniuses, capable of constructing structures such as massive droid foundries and Geonosian hives. Society and culture In Geonosian society there are two main types of individuals: wingless drones that mostly work as laborers, and the winged aristocracy, which includes royal warriors serving as scouts and providing security for the hive. Geonosian society exists for the benefit of the elite of Geonosian society. Their caste system has evolved over millennia. Geonosians are born into specific castes divided along the lines of their physical attributes. Though most Geonosians are content to live within their assigned castes, a few develop ambition and aspire to ascend socially. Even those with the capacity to depart rarely leave Geonosis. The importance of the hive is strongly ingrained in the Geonosian mind, and they are also contemptuous of other species. The few that venture offworld usually leave as work groups that ultimately benefit their home hives. Geonosians possess many cultural practices. One of them is a martial art known as Petranaki, which goes back to the Geonosian belief in deities (called Overlords) who would fight one another in armed combat to spare their hives from destroying one another through war. Petranaki involves a set of weapons called the "petranaki array", which include such weapons as the confessor's whip, caster's net, petranaki scimitar, picador's spear (also known as a static pike), and the beastwarden's shield. This form of arena combat is considered a noble, high class profession. Petranaki gladiators are thus given a level of distinction beyond the limits of their caste, although they are never equals with the aristocrats. They consider the number 33 to be a lucky number, and if a larva is born the 33rd egg of his clutch, it is taken to be a good omen. Common Geonosian names are Deetle, Eorlax, Krylla, Lysslo, Mazzag, Qorn, Sollas, and Vikkal. Their native tongue, Geonosian, is a language consisting of clicks and whistles. Castes Worker Members of the worker (or lesser) caste are wingless Geonosians that form the lower class of Geonosian society. They are oppressed by the warrior caste, most of which think nothing of compelling thousands of workers to toil under harsh conditions regardless of any dangers. They construct spires and droid foundries, as well as more complicated architectural feats, such as the Petranaki arena. Some members of this caste are known to have non-functioning wings. The only hope a worker might have of escaping his lowly status lay in gladiatorial combat. Geonosians of lower-caste are often pitted against other Geonosians, other sapient beings, or fierce creatures in large arenas. If the Geonosian survives, he achieves status and ascends socially, or gains enough wealth to leave Geonosis altogether. Warrior The winged warrior caste grows to adulthood rapidly, and are ready for combat at the age of six. They also form the aristocracy of Geonosian society. While they possess enough intelligence to defend their hives from natural predators, they are easily conquerable by more sharp-witted foes. Geonosians do not have a formal standing military, although they have basic security and law enforcement forces. They instead use their droid foundries to build armies or large amounts of droids for corporate interests wealthy enough to afford them. They oversaw the creation of the spectacular architectural realm in which they all live, adapting forms they once built by instinct into more refined, spire-like structures. Elite Like their society at large, the warrior caste is divided between the elite and the regulars. Elite warriors are genetically superior to the regulars, having greater abilities in the art of war, and appear to be equipped with cybernetics. While the regulars are only equipped with weak force pikes or sonic blasters and barely any protection gear, the elites are given beam weapons capable of cutting through personal shields and armor plating. They also, for reasons unknown, have a second pair of walking legs and longer abdomens that normal Geonosians lacked, perhaps due to genetic engineering or selective breeding. Queen A queen's body and head somewhat resemble regular Geonosians, although she has six limbs opposed to four and her abdominal section is a massively-bloated ovipositor with which to lay eggs. The queen can lay an egg roughly every eight seconds. The head is larger and has a giant crest. Queens keep the hive running and are the central link of the Geonosian hive mind. In fact, some queens have such a powerful link with the hive mind that they can actually control dead warriors. Other Castes One Geonosian subgroup that has emerged is a separate caste raised to be fighter pilots. These hardy specimens require no sleep. In training, each pilot pupa pairs with a fighter's flight computer, and they develop an idiosyncratic, coordination-enhancing rapport. The pilots lack wings. Another subgroup is the picadors, which operate the Geonosian gladiatorial arenas. The picadors are trained to ride orrays and use static pikes to direct and wrangle arena beasts. The arena picadors are actually drones from other castes who have proven themselves worthy in the arena. They are given slightly more dignity than a typical worker drone. geonosianlarva.JPG|Larva geonosianworker.jpg|Worker/Picador geonosianelite.jpg|Elite geonosianqueen.jpg|Queen Behind the scenes *The Geonosians were based primarily on concept art originally developed for the Neimoidians when George Lucas wanted to make them a computer-generated creation. When Lucas decided to use animatronic masks instead, the Neimoidian design was refined further into the Geonosians. *Their ruler names, such as Karina the Great and Poggle the Lesser, are similar to those of famous Russian rulers like Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great and Peter the Great. Category:Extraterrestrial Category:Insectoid Category:Biped